Winter Love || Bucky Barnes

8: Wanda and Pietro

The cell was opened and I looked into the face of a young woman. Her long hair fell in waves over her red jacket.

"Come on, I'm getting you out of here," she said.

"Who are you?" I asked confused, but she held out her hand and pulled me to my feet.

"That's not important now. But if we want to escape, then now."

I looked at her hesitantly, but then decided to trust her. I couldn't stay here either. So, I followed her down the corridor. "Wait! My friend is still around somewhere. I have to find him."

"Don't worry. My brother Pietro is taking care of him. Now, come on."

We had no difficulty getting out. All the guards who stood in our way were knocked out on the spot. The woman simply moved her hands and released red waves at them, causing them to fall. Bucky was already waiting outside with a young man. I ran up to him and gave him a hug, not caring about the pain in my wrist.

"Oh my God, I'm so glad you're all right," I whispered.

"Me too."

I turned to the siblings. "Thank you both so much. We owe you everything. How can we thank you?"

The young woman shrugged. "You don't need to. You are victims just like us. "Can you tell me your name now?" She smiled. "I am Wanda. Wanda Maximoff." With these words, she lowered her arms and red rings surrounded her hands.

Then she lifted off into the air and flew away. Pietro gave us a smile and ran off at a speed I'd never seen before.

"Come on, doll. Let's go."

He put his arm around my shoulder and we walked back to the Stark Tower. "How's your hand?"

"Well, I think it's broken. I don't know. "

"I'm so sorry, Connie. If it weren't for me..."

"Stop it! It's not your fault. Besides, it will heal."

When we entered the tower, Tony and the others were already waiting. Natasha hugged me tightly. "We're so glad you're okay."

Tony looked down at me and narrowed his eyes. "What's with your hand?"

"Well..." Before I could say anything, he was already standing next to Bucky, his index finger pointing accusingly at him.

"What happened, Bucky? I said if anything happens to her, then..."

"Tony, stop," I interjected, stepping between them. "It was all my fault. I was stupid and walked alone."

"But he should have looked out for you." Tony was so stubborn sometimes. Nevertheless, I loved him. He was just worried.

"He only took his eyes off me for a moment. Please, don't blame him. He just risked his life to save me."

"That's the least he could do."

"Do you want me to go?" Bucky asked quietly, looking down at the ground. "I will, you just have to say so."

Tony looked first at me, then at Steve and then at Bucky before replying, "You get one last chance. One last one. You better not blow it."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Tony."

***

After Tony had treated my hand, he sat down next to me on the bed. "I just want you to know that I'm trying to protect you. I don't want to punish you, sweetie."

"I know. But Bucky is good for me. You'll see."

"If you say so." He kissed my forehead and smiled at me. "You're almost like a daughter to me. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thanks, Tony. That's sweet."

After he left, Natasha and Clint came into my room. "Hey kid, you okay?" Clint asked and winked at me. I had to laugh. "Sure. Thanks for asking."

"Well, if you want to talk, just say it okay?" Natasha added smiling. "Okay, I will. Can I ask you something?" I waited until they nodded and added "How did you two meet?"

Clint looked at Natasha and a smile spread across his face. "It was in Budapest. I had to kill her because she was on the other side."

"But he didn't. He spared my life. Since then, we have been working together."

"Wow, that's nice," I replied and smiled.

"And how did you meet Tony and the others?" I had always wondered this.

"Tony recruited us when Loki came to Earth."

"Loki? The one who is locked up?"

"How do you know?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "I saw him there. Why is he there? What has he done?"

"He wanted to conquer the world. He brought an army of aliens to Earth. He is also Thor's brother," Natasha explained.

"His brother?"

"Well, adoptive", Clint added quickly.

"Wow, that's much." I would never have guessed that.

Natasha put her hand on my shoulder. "You should get some rest now. See you tomorrow."

After they left, I thought about Loki, Thor's adopted brother and decided to check on him again.

He sat on the floor with his arms folded and stared at the ceiling. But when he saw me, he quickly stood up.

"Hello there. What happened to your hand?"

He pointed to the bandage. "None of your business."

"I could heal it if you let me out of here."

Not a chance. Now I know what you've done."

He laughed and took a step closer to the window, his eyes sparkled wickedly. "Go away. I don't want you here."

I could sense his lie.

"I don't think so. When I was captured, I would have been happy about any contact. The worst thing is not being locked up, but being alone. Even if you don't want to admit it, you are happy to see me."

"That's where you're wrong. I don't want to see anyone. Go away!" He sounded like he meant it, but he didn't look as angry as before.

"No." I sat down and crossed my arms. He sighed and sat down again. "You were captured? By whom?"

"An organisation called Hydra."

"Sounds bad. What did they do?" His voice was calmer now and not as angry as before.

"Some experiments with a blue cube."

"Sorry to hear that." I couldn't believe my ears. He was sorry?

"Why did you do it? Sending the aliens to earth? Killing all those people."

"I want power, respect. I want to rule the world."

"And you think that will bring you the respect you deserve? Respect isn't given to you, it's earned. You can't force someone to respect you."

"What do you know? You are just a little human. You don't know anything. You should kneel before me!"

"Kneel?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why would I kneel before you?"

"Because I'm a god."

"God of mischief," I laughed.

"You know what. If you do a good deed, it's much more likely that people will kneel before you. You can't intimidate them, they have to love you of their own accord. Like the avengers. They save the world and people love them for it."

"Do you mean I should help the avengers?"

"Well, maybe. But first, you have to become a better person."

He rolled his eyes and I stood up. "I'll be back. Maybe you will see it differently the next time."

"I don't even know your name."

I smiled. "I'm Connie."

"Connie", he repeated slowly, his eyes sparkling. "Goodbye, Connie."

"Goodbye, Loki."